when two families of five become one family of eight

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There were five of us: Lee, Shannon, and our three children: Jocelyn (6), Robbie (4), and Zoe (1.5).

Their family also consisted of parents and three children: Patience (6), Philip (4), and Patricia (almost 2). And then, through hard realities that I won't share here because the story is not mine to tell, these three needed a new family.

We weren't planning to adopt again so soon, considering that Zoe had just joined our family eight months before we found out about the next three children who would become ours. But these three were about to be separated, because one had tested positive for HIV and the adoption facilitator in their country thought the two who were healthy would be adopted more quickly if they were listed for adoption without their ill sibling.

Even before we voiced our prayers for these children, God's

yes

 for these children and for this adoption resounded in our hearts.

(Lest you think we were all heart and no mind, though, we did have a private investigation done to make sure the story we were being told was verified and to confirm that these children didn't have any possible in-country options for adoption or other loving family care.)

As we had before we adopted Zoe, we showed the picture above to Jocelyn and Robbie and Zoe. We told them the story of the three faces staring back at us, and we asked what they thought we should do.

Jocelyn said, "Adopt them!"

Robbie said, "That Philip is my brother, Mommy."

Zoe wasn't speaking much yet, but we know she thrives around other children, so we took her affirmation from that.

So

we announced our plans

to the interwebs, thanks to our talented photographer

(local friends, 

check her out!

)

.

Then, after paperwork and waiting and whatnot, we went - all five of us - to Uganda.

Then, six weeks later, we returned - all eight of us - from Uganda.

Want to know why we adopt?

Click here

. If you want to read about the biggest lesson God taught me in this adoption, 

this post

 tells about the hard blessings. If you'd like to learn more about HIV+ adoption, click 

here

and

here

and

here

 and

here

to read past posts about that. Wanna see how we all get around?

Meet Pluto

. Wondering why we said yes to siblings? 

Click here

. If you'd like to read about the scariest parts of our trip, read about our experiences with

malaria

and

typhoid

. (Yeah, fun times!) Then there was

homesickness

too. Finally, 

here's

where we introduced our three Ugandans in pictures for the first time on the blog.

Now?

We are blessed beyond measure!

that time we went to the school district offices for ESL testing

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and I filled out a bunch of paperwork, while Patience figured out the art of selfies and stealth iPhone pics.






She starts 1st grade on Monday. We've already met her teacher, and she's fantastic. Her class is right next door to Jocelyn's class, and they'll see each other at lunch and will be able to play together at recess. Plus we've already made plans to meet a couple of Patience's classmates in front of the school on her first day and walk to class with them so she doesn't have to enter alone. 

Exciting times!

thanksgiving surprises

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One year ago today, I was an exhausted and anxious mama camped our in a children's hospital room with a little guy who had a 12 minute long grand mal seizure the night before Thanksgiving. I'm convinced I have some PTSD from that night, but God has refined me in countless ways through the seizure and the subsequent diagnosis of epilepsy for Robbie.


This Thanksgiving, I am exhausted again... with jet lag and a house full of children, three of whom I didn't know existed a year ago.






Unexpected surprises, our three Ugandans are!

And? Unexpected blessings of this spread for Thanksgiving, all cooked and brought to us by different members of our church, some friends and some who we met when they came to the door with a casserole.



Other surprises for which we're giving thanks:

  • Later this week we're getting another full Thanksgiving meal from Harris Teeter, purchased for us by another precious friend at our church. We didn't realize a simple question on Facebook - when I asked about people's experiences with pre-cooked pick-up Thanksgiving meals - would turn into one friend spearheading one meal for us and another friend blessing us with another full meal... we stand amazed. and thankful.
  • Lee's parents are joining us for one of our Thanksgiving meals, when they will meet their three newest grandchildren. Angie - the dear friend who spent three weeks with us in Uganda - is joining us for the other Thanksgiving meal, which is fitting given how many times we've thanked God for her in the past few weeks! 
  • I had to turn down two other offers for Thanksgiving meals, and those dear friends are serving us in different ways. (How wonderful is our family in Christ here in Raleigh?)
  • We're also getting all of our Uganda trip laundry back this afternoon, after a friend pick it up and washed it for us.

Thankful for so, so much this year!

What are you thankful for?